That Research Open House Thing
Jan. 11th, 2008 04:51 pmSo this week I had my first complete no-show research open house. I was pretty much expecting it, given that it was the week after 12th night and the weather has been so nasty. And, after all, part of the design of the concept is that if nobody shows up, then I just get my own projects done all evening. The only difference is that I've gotten the week's housecleaning done by Tuesday, and I have to have actually gotten dressed after the post-gym shower rather than going stright to PJs and a fuzzy robe. For next month I think it's time to implement an advance "homework assignment" and do another round of rabble rousing on the e-mail lists.
But I'm starting to think that
thread_walker may have been right in thinking that I'd get better response to individual focused and concentrated weekend research "events". And after chatting with her today, I've gotten re-energized on an idea I got a couple years ago: I'd like to do an all-day workshop on "let's review the source material on Viking costume from the ground up". From a selfish perspective, I'd like to go through the process for my own sake so that I can come to my own conclusions and interpretations rather than relying on the prevailing "common knowledge". (And as a motivation for actually getting around to reading up on all the source material.) But I also think it would be a useful exercise for anyone who is interested in the historic basis of Viking-era costuming to retrace the process of moving from the artifacts-on-the-ground, through the conjectures and interpretations, to the necessary compromises and filling-in-the-blanks necessary for producing an actual suit of clothes. (Realistically, this would probably involve more than one all-day workshop!) And, yes, this would satisfy the "all about me" requirement.
But I'm starting to think that
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